An Even Better Gift
by FaithInHim4ever
Summary: Takes place after "Song for My Father." Gloria helps Sarah through the aftermath of her surgery and prepares her to receive another gift from the Father R/R


DISCLAIMER: I DO NOT own the characters from Touched by an Angel. They belong to CBS.

Enjoy!

God loves you!

A/N: This idea came to mind after watching "Song for My Father" just a few hours ago. Gloria didn't have much interaction with Sarah in the show, so I decided to write this little one shot.

"An Even Better Gift"

Gloria gave Sarah a reassuring smile as she prepared to put the medicine into the young girl's IV. She knew this was a scary time for Sarah and Gloria wanted to help her through it any way she could.

"Sarah, it's gonna be okay." Gloria told her, sitting down next to her bed. She put a gentle hand on her shoulder and patted it gently. "I know you're scared, but it's gonna be okay. I'll be right there the whole time. And after you wake up, I'll be right there as well."

Sarah nodded.

"Thanks, Gloria." She said, feeling a little better having Gloria there. She didn't know why, but the angel made her feel a little bit better about what was going on.

"Shh," Gloria insisted gently. "You need to stay quiet for now. Shh."

"Gloria, I'm scared!" Sarah admitted, tears streaming down her face. "I won't be able to sing anymore. God gave me the gift and now I won't be able to give Him one back! He's gonna hate me!"

Gloria shook her head. She had to fight back tears of her own now. She knew God didn't hate this precious child and she had to convince Sarah of the truth before the medicine kicked in.

"Sarah? Sarah, honey, listen to me." Gloria said, taking Sarah's free hand in her own. "God doesn't hate you, sweetie. He doesn't. He loves you so much."

Sarah shook her head, a sob escaping her lips.

"How do you know!" Sarah shot at her, quickly quieted down by Gloria's hand on her shoulder.

"I know because I'm an angel. I was sent here to help you." Gloria told her. She was glowing with the light of God's love by now, her hand still on the teenage girl's shoulder.

"Ya-You're an angel?" Sarah asked, her voice full of fear.

"Yes, Sarah. I'm an angel. Don't be afraid, honey. God loves you. He loves you more than you could ever know. He doesn't blame you for what happened. He gave you the gift of music and you've used that gift to not only make a joyful noise unto the Father, but you've also used it to bring joy to others."

Gloria told her, giving her a sip of water, hoping that would help her calm down. "And God is very proud of you for that."

"If God's proud of me," Sarah whispered, her voice full of tears and tiredness, "then how come He took the only gift He gave me away?"

Gloria sighed. She put a gentle hand on Sarah's shoulder and guided Sarah's chin up so that the young girl was looking into her brown eyes.

"Sarah, God didn't take the gift away. He gave it to you so that you could glorify Him and bring joy to other people. You've done that for the past ten years. You gave God the greatest gift you could. Now, you'll find another way to glorify your Heavenly Father. God gave you a gift and He'll give you another one."

"But it's all my fault!" Sarah cried, her tears wetting the blanket.

Gloria shook her head.

"No, it's not. God doesn't blame you, sweetie. He doesn't." She assured the frightened teenager.

"But I'm the one who smoked! I'm the one who didn't' listen and sung when you told me not to! I did that! Now I might never be able to sing again!"

"It's not your fault." Gloria insisted, making Sarah look at her once again. "I promise you that, Sarah. It isn't. God knew why you sung even though you weren't supposed to. He does. He understands you love to sing and He wants you to love it. He gave you that gift and you've cherished it and used it for good this whole time. He is very pleased with you. And I know He's going to give you a new gift that's even better than the gift of song."

"How can anything be better than the gift of song?" Sarah asked, her voice stronger, but full of doubt and bitterness.

Gloria smiled.

"You'd be surprised at what God can come up with."

"Are you sure God will give me a new gift?" Sarah asked, her stomach doing a flip.

Gloria nodded.

"I can guarantee it. God closes doors, but He always opens others up. He doesn't take one thing away and not give you something even better in return. He will give you another gift in time. I promise you that."

Sarah nodded. She swallowed hard and Gloria knew what was going to happen. She put the bucket in front of the young girl and helped her to sit up.

After Sarah's stomach had calmed down, Gloria helped her to lie down once again.

"Gloria, don't leave me!" Sarah begged, reaching out for Gloria's hand.

"I won't, sweetie. I promise. I'm not going anywhere. I'm going to stay right here."

Sarah nodded and relaxed a little bit.

As they entered the OR, Sarah squeezed Gloria's hand tighter and closed her eyes shut. She was afraid and Gloria knew it.

As the doctors went to move Sarah onto the operating table, Gloria noticed the girl had started to shake. She rushed to her side and put an arm around her.

"Sarah? Sarah, honey, it's okay, it's okay." With that, Gloria took Sarah into her arms and held her. She started stroking her hair and speaking softly to her, trying to calm her down.

As Sarah felt Gloria's arms encircle her in a comforting hug, she allowed her tears to fall. She laid her head on Gloria's shoulder and closed her eyes, her shaking subsiding for the moment.

"Good girl." Gloria encouraged. "That's it. Good girl, Sarah. It's okay. It's all right. Just close your eyes and try and sleep. I'm right here and so is God. He's here with you, sweetie. He is."

"Gloria, I'm scared!" Sarah whimpered, her voice soft and full of fear.

"I know you are, honey. I know. God knows to. He's going to help you, little one. Shh, shh…" Gloria soothed, combing her fingers through Sarah's brown hair.

"Gloria, I don't feel so good." Sarah whimpered, swallowing hard once again.

Gloria had to think fast. She needed to get Sarah calmed down and she couldn't let her get sick again.

"Sarah, shh, it's okay, sweetie. You're gonna be okay. Shh…" Gloria's voice trailed off as she continued to comb her fingers through the teenager's hair. She started praying, knowing God would help Sarah through this.

The motion of Gloria's fingers combing through Sarah's hair was enough to calm Sarah down. She was still crying, but the urge to vomit was gone.

"Gloria?" Sarah asked, almost asleep.

"Shh, shh, Sarah, it's okay. I'm right here. I have you. You need to try and sleep now."

"Sing to me, please?" The scared and frightened girl requested.

Gloria nodded and started singing a song she had sung with Tess a few months ago.

"Gloria?" Sarah asked again as Gloria was finishing the song. "Thanks."

Gloria smiled as she helped Sarah to lie back down.

"You're welcome, sweetie. I'm right here. Shh…" Gloria soothed, combing her fingers through Sarah's hair as she started to sing again.

It took Sarah a good fifteen minutes, but she was finally able to fall asleep.

As Gloria stood there, unseen for the moment, she prayed toe the Father, asking Him to protect Sarah and see her through this difficult time.

The youngest angel knew that the road ahead was going to be a tough one, but she also knew that Sarah wouldn't be alone. And as long as Sarah let Him, God would guide her through whatever storm was on the horizon.

A few hours later, Sarah woke up in the recovery room. She looked around and smiled slightly when she saw Gloria sitting next to her.

"Sarah? Hi, sweetheart. It's over. You did a great job. I told you I'd be here when you woke up."

Sarah nodded. She then asked Gloria a question with her eyes. She pointed to her throat and then to a CD lying on the table.

Gloria felt tears welling up in her eyes as she struggled to answer Sarah's question. She couldn't lie to her, but she didn't want to tell her either.

Sarah gave Gloria a look as though she knew the angel was hiding something from her. She wrote something down on a piece of paper and handed it to Gloria.

Gloria read it and almost burst out laughing.

ANGELS CAN'T LIE. TELL IT TO ME STRAIGHT the note read.

Gloria sighed as she prepared to tell Sarah the news. Sarah was right and the young angel knew it.

"Sarah, sweetheart, the doctors did find cancer. They had to…they had to remove your vocal chords to prevent it from spreading." Gloria explained, trying to fight back tears.

Sarah shook her head as though willing what Gloria said not to be true.

"I'm so sorry, honey." Gloria said, sincerely. "But I promise, God will give you another gift."

Sarah nodded.

Gloria could tell she was trying not to cry. She knew Sarah felt like this was the end of her life, but Gloria knew better. She knew her Heavenly Father and when something like this happened, He always had something else in mind.

And the youngest angel knew without a doubt that the new gift God was going to bless Sarah with, was going to be an even better one than Sarah ever thought possible.

THE END


End file.
